A (also Aa, Sirdu, Sirrida). Moon Goddess of Chaldeans. Symbolized by a disk with eight rays, this figure is frequently associated with goddesses of light across many cultures including Babylon, Mesopotamia, Akkadia and Semitic.

In Islamic lore, the 'substitutes', 70 mysterious spirits whose identities are known only to God alone, "When one of those entities dies another is secretly appointed in replacement' and it is through the operations and actions of these creatures that the world continues to exist.

Cain was born with a twin sister who was named Aclima, and Abel with a twin sister named Jumella. Adam wished Cain to marry Abel's twin sister, and Abel to marry Cain's. Cain would not consent to this arrangement, and Adam proposed to refer the question to God by means of a sacrifice. God rejected Cain's sacrifice to signify his disapproval of his marriage with Aclima, his twin sister, and Cain slew his brother in a fit of jealousy. Islam

Acala, is the best known of the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. Acala means "The Immovable One" in Sanskrit. Acala is also the name of the eighth of the ten stages of the path to buddhahood. Acala is the destroyer of delusion and the protector of Buddhism. Buddhist/India

According to some ancient cosmogonies, the eternal night, and the first created being which existed even before Chaos. According to Hesiod, she was the personification of misery and sadness, and as such she was represented on the shield of Heracles: pale, emaciated, and weeping, with chattering teeth, swollen knees, long nails on her fingers, bloody cheeks, and her shoulders thickly covered with dust.

Self-indulgence. An enchantress who lived in the "Bower of Bliss," situate in "Wandering Island" She transformed her lovers into monstrous shapes, and kept them captives. Sir Guyon having crept up softly, threw a net over her, and bound her in chains of adamant; then broke down her bower and burnt it to ashes. Britain.

A mythical king of Argos, and a son of Abas and Ocalea (or Aglaea, depending on the author). He quarrelled constantly with his twin brother Proetus, inventing bucklers in the process, and in the end expelled him to Tiryns.

Son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, a daughter of Cadmus. He was trained in the art of hunting by the centaur Cheiron, and was afterwards torn to pieces by his own 50 hounds on mount Cithaeron. The names of these hounds are given by Ovid (Metamorphoses III) and Hyginus.

Son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, a daughter of Cadmus. He was trained in the art of hunting by the centaur Cheiron, and was afterwards torn to pieces by his own 50 hounds on mount Cithaeron. The names of these hounds are given by Ovid (Metamorphoses III) and Hyginus.

A son of Cinyras and Medarme, according to Hesiod a son of Phoenix and Alphesiboea, and according to the cyclic poet Panyasis, a son of Tlieias, king of Assyria, who begot him by his own daughter Smyrna. (Myrrha.)

A Sicilian nymph, and according to Alcimus, a daughter of Uranus and Gaea, or of Briareus. Simonides said that she had acted as arbitrator between Hephaestus and Demeter respecting the possession of Sicily.

A son of Poseidon and Libya, king of Phoenicia, and twin-brother of Belus. (Apollod. ii. 1. § 4.) He married Telephassa, by whom he became the father of Cadmus, Phoenix, Cylix, Thasus, Phineus, and according to some of Europa also. 2 3 4 5 6

A daughter of Actaeus, the first king of Athens. By her husband, Cecrops, she became the mother of Erysichthon, Agraulos, Herse, and Pandrosos. 2. A daughter of Cecrops and Agraulos, and mother of Alcippe by Ares.

The ghost of someone who killed in hunting. Those who see him face to face are burnt by the flash of his eye, or are torn to pieces by his dogs, or have their livers extracted and eaten by the fairies who accompany him. Indian

Loquens, was a Roman numen associated with the Gallic invasions of the early 4th century. In 390 BC, the Gauls moved in the direction of Rome. According to Roman folklore, a Roman named Caedicius kept hearing a disembodied nocturnal voice at the base of the Palatine hill in the Forum Romanum. The voice warned Caedicius of the oncoming attack and recommended that the walls of Rome be fortified.

A daughter of the Aetolian king Thestius and Eurythemis, and sister of Lecla, Hypermnestra, Iphiclus, Euippus, etc. She was married to Oeneus, king of Calydon, by whom she became the mother of Troxeus, Thyreus, Clymenus, and Meleager, and of two daughters, Gorge and Deianeira. (Apollodorus i) Apollodorus states, that according to some, Meleager was regarded as the fruit of her intercourse with Ares, and that she was mother of Deianeira by Dionysus.

An Indian nymph, who was passionately loved by Dionysus, but could not be induced to yield to his wishes, until the god changed himself into a tiger, and thus compelled her by fear to allow him to carry her across the river Sollax, which from this circumstance received the name of Tigris. Greek

In ancient mythology, Ambrosia is sometimes the food, sometimes the drink, of the gods. The word has generally been derived from Greek a- ("not") and mbrotos ("mortal"); hence the food or drink of the immortals. Thetis anointed the infant Achilles with ambrosia and passed the child through the fire to make him immortal - a familiar Phoenician custom - but Peleus, appalled, stopped her.

A celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahayana school of Buddhism. According to these scriptures, Amitabha possesses infinite merits resulting from good deeds over countless past lives as a bodhisattva named Dharmakara. Buddhist/India

A son of Deucalion and Pyrrha or according to others an autochthon, who after having married Cranae, the daughter of Cranaus, king of Attica, expelled his father-in-law from his kingdom and usurped his throne. He ruled for twelve years, and was then in turn expelled by Erichthomus.

A son of Lycurgus and Cleophile, and father of Antimache, who married Eurystheus. (Apollodorus iii) According to Pausanias and Apollonius Rhodius (Argonautica) he was a son of Aleus, and consequently a brother of Lycurgus, Cepheus, and Auge, and took part in the expedition of the Argonauts.

A son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle, and brother of Alcmaeon. (Apollodorus iii) When his father went against Thebes, Amphiloehus was, according to Pausanias, yet an infant, although ten years afterwards he is mentioned as one of the Epigoni, and according to some traditions assisted his brother in the murder of his mother.

According to Hesiod (Theogony) and Apollodorus a Nereid, though in other places Apollodorus calls her an Oceanid. She is represented as the wife of Poseidon and the goddess of the sea (the Mediterranean), and she is therefore a kind of female Poseidon.

One of the daughters of Danaus and Elephantis. When Danaus arrived in Argos, the country, according to the wish of Poseidon, who was indignant at Inachus, was suffering from a drought, and Danaus sent out Amymone to fetch water.

1. A daughter of Bias and wife of Pelias, by whom she became the mother of Acastus, Peisidice, Pelopia, Hippothoe, and Alcestis. (Apollodorus) 2. A daughter of Cratieus, and second wife of Nestor. (Apollodorus) 3. A daughter of Pleisthenes, and sister of Agamemnon, married Strophius and became the mother of Pylades.

A daughter of Eetion, king of the Cilician Thebae, and one of the noblest and most amiable female characters in the Iliad. Her father and her seven brothers were slain by Achilles at the taking of Thebae, and her mother, who had purchased her freedom by a large ransom, was killed by Artemis. Greek

Twelve angels among the first formed at Creation, although according to official Catholic doctrine, all angels were formed simultaneously. Only five are mentioned by name: Saten'el, Michael, Uriel, Rappheal and Nathan'el.

Goddess of anguish, secrecy, silence and the winter solstice. According to one class of passages she is the goddess of anguish and fear, that is, the goddess who not only produces this state of mind, but also relieves men from it. Roman

Angoulaffre of the Broken Teeth. His face measured 3 feet across; his nose was 9 inches long; his arms and legs were each 6 feet; his fingers 6 inches and 2 lines; his enormous mouth was armed with sharp pointed yellow tusks. He was descended from Goliath. French

The moon, brother to the sun whom Moon chases across the sky. Aningan has a great igloo in the sky where he rests. Irdlirvirissong, his demon cousin, lives there as well. The moon is a great hunter, and his sledge is always piled high with seal skins and meat. Inuit

A daughter of Nycteus and Polyxo or of the river god Asopus in Boeotia. She became by Zeus the mother of Amphion and Zethus, Dionysus threw her into a state of madness on account of the vengeance which her sons had taken on Dirce. In this condition she wandered about through Greece, until Phocus, the grandson of Sisyphus, cured and married her. She was buried with Phocus in one common tomb.

One of the great Olympian divinities, according to the popular and poetical notions of the Greeks, the goddess of love and beauty. Some traditions stated that she had sprung from the foam of the sea, which had gathered around the mutilated parts of Uranus, that had been thrown into the sea by Cronus after he had unmanned his father. (Theogony of Hesiod)

One of the great divinities of the Greeks, was, according to Homer, the son of Zeus and Leto. Hesiod (Theogony of Hesiod 918) states the same, and adds, that Apollo's sister was Artemis. Neither of the two poets suggests anything in regard to the birth-place of the god, unless we take "born in Lycia," which, however, according to others, would only mean "born of or in light." Apollo is one of the few Greek gods who did not sleep with Aphrodite

An angel who, according to the rabbis of the Talmud, takes charge of the waters of the earth. Fishermen invoke him so that they may take large fish. Arariel has also traditionally been invoked as a cure for stupidity. Jewish

The god of war and one of the great Olympian gods of the Greeks. He is represented as the son of Zeus and Hera. A later tradition, according to which Hera conceived Ares by touching a certain flower, appears to be an imitation of the legend about the birth of Hephaestus, and is related by Ovid.

The wife of Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians. In the Odyssey she appears as a noble and active superintendent of the household of her husband, and when Odysseus arrived in the island, he first applied to queen Arete to obtain hospitable reception and protection. Respecting her connexion with the story of Jason and Medeia.

The wife of Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians. In the Odyssey she appears as a noble and active superintendent of the household of her husband, and when Odysseus arrived in the island, he first applied to queen Arete to obtain hospitable reception and protection. Respecting her connexion with the story of Jason and Medeia, see Alcinous. Greek

The heroes and demigods who, according to the traditions of the Greeks, undertook the first bold maritime expedition to Colchis, a far distant country on the coast of the Euxine, for the purpose of fetching the golden fleeces. They derived their name from the ship Argo, in which the voyage was made, and which was constructed by Argus at the command of Jason, the leader of the Argonauts.

An ancient divinity worshipped in various parts of Greece, as in Thessaly, Ceos, and Boeotia, but especially in the islands of the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriatic seas, which had once been inhabited by Pelasgians. He is described either as a son of Uranus and Ge, or according to a more general tradition, as the son of Apollo by Cyrene, the grand-daughter of Peneius.

A daughter of Phegeus, and wife of Alcmaeon. As she disapproved of the murder of Alcmaeon, the sons of Phegeus put her into a chest and carried her to Tegea, where they accused her of having killed Alcmaeon herself.

One of the great divinities of the Greeks. Her name is usually derived from uninjured, healthy, vigorous; according to which she would be the goddess who is herself inviolate and vigorous, and also grants strength and health to others. According to the Homeric account and Hesiod (Theogony 918) she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was the sister of Apollo, and born with him at the same time in the island of Delos.

1. A surname of Athena in Colchis. Her worship was believed to have been brought from thence by Castor and Polydeuces to Laconia, where a temple was built to her at Las. 2. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, who became by Japetus the mother of Atlas, Prometheus, and Epimetheus. (Theogony of Hesiod 359.) According to some traditions the continent of Asia derived its name from her.

One of the great divinities of the Greeks. Homer calls her a daughter of Zeus, without any allusion to her mother or to the manner in which she was called into existence, while most of the later traditions agree in stating that she was born from the head of Zeus. According to the Theogony of Hesiod, Metis, the first wife of Zeus, was the mother of Athena, but when Metis was pregnant with her, Zeus, on the advice of Gaea and Uranus, swallowed Metis up, and afterwards gave birth himself to Athena, who sprang from his head.

According to Hesiod (Theogony 507), a son of Japetus and Clymene, and a brother of Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus. According to Apollodorus his mother's name was Asia and, according to Hyginus, he was a son of Aether and Gaia.

Or Attis, a daughter of Cranaus, from whom Attica, which was before called Actaea, was believed to have derived its name. The two birds into which Philomele and her sister Procne were metamorphosed, were likewise called Attis.

Princess of Arkadia and a priestess of Athena, who birthed her illegitimate son within the sacred precincts of the goddess. As punishment for the sacriligeous act, Athena made the land barren until the king had the girl exiled and sold into slavery. Greek

A son of Hermes or Daedalion by Chione, Philonis, or Telauge. He was the husband of Neaera, or according to Homer, of Amphithea, by whom he became the father of Anticleia, the mother of Odysseus and Aesimus.

A daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, was the wife of Aristaeus, by whom she became the mother of Polydorus. (Theogony of Hesiod) According to Apollodorus (Apollodorus iii), Polydorus was a brother of Autonoe, and Actaeon was her son.

According to Akilattirattu Ammanai, a scripture of the Ayyavazhi, was an avatar of Narayana. As per the Ayyavazhi mythology the body in which Ayya Vaikundar incarnated is that of Mudisoodum Perumal. Tamil

A son of Clymenus of Orchomenos, father of Actor and grandfather of Astyoche. He went with his brothers against Thebes, to take vengeance for the murder of his father, who had been slain by the Thebans at a festival of the Onchestian Poseidon. Greek

One of the demons supposed to have possessed Nicole Aubry of Laon, France, in the year 1566. He went to dine with her husband under the pretext of freeing her from demon possession, which he did not accomplish. It was observed that at supper he did not drink, which showed that demons are averse to water.

"Ba of the Lord of Mendes" a fertility god and originally a ram with horns shaped like cork-screws, later he was often thought of as a he-goat. According to Herodotus his followers did not sacrifice goats. Egypt

A surname of Dionysus which, according to the explanations of the Greeks, is derived from the long robe which the god himself and the Maenads used to wear in Thrace, and whence the Maenads themselves are often called bassarae or bassarides. Greek

Bathin, Marthin. One of the three demons in the service of Fleuretty. Duke of the Infernal Regions he has the appearance of a robust man but his body ends in a serpent's tail. He is well versed in the virtues of herbs and precious stones according to Wierius. He is able to transport men from one place to another with wondrous speed. He commands thirty legions. One of the 72 spirits of Solomon.

The good fairy of Italian children, who is supposed to fill their stockings with toys when they go to bed on Twelfth Night. Some one enters the children's bedroom for the purpose, and the wakeful youngsters cry out, "Ecco la Befana." According to legend, Befana was too busy with house affairs to look after the Magi when they went to offer their gifts, and said she would wait to see them on their return; but they went another way, and Befana, every Twelfth Night, watches to see them. The name is a corruption of Epiphania.

The noblest of the Chaidaean priests at Babylon, who, according to the account of Ctesias, is said, in conjunction with Arbaces, the Mede, to have overthrown the old Assyrian empire. Beiesis afterwards received the satrapy of Babylon from Arbaces.

Divination by arrows. Labels being attached to a given number of arrows, the archers let them fly, and the advice on the label of the arrow which flies farthest is accepted and acted on. This practice is common with the Arabs. Greek

River nymphs accused of stealing newborn children. Probably a variation of the Hebrew Lilith myth. Driven by an insatiable hunger of envy, Lilith stalks the world by night raping men in their sleep and sucking their blood, or stealing their newborn children from their cots and eating them. Slavic

A type of evil spirit. It is especially the evil ghost of a man who has died due to execution, accident, or suicide. People protect themselves by lying on the ground, because the bhutas never rest on earth. In the Bhagvad Gita, Krishna the Avatar declares that the humans who worship bhutas become bhutas themselves. India

Demon of astronomy, geometry, and other such sciences, planetary influences. He often takes the form of a man. He is acquainted with the virtues of herbs, precious stones and plants. He can transport corpses from one place to another. It is he who lights the strange corpse lights above the tombs of the dead. Unk

A patronymic from Briseus, and the name of Hippodameia, the daughter of Briseus of Lyrnessus, who fell into the hands of Achilles, and about whom the quarrel arose between Achilles and Agamemnon. Greek

Son of Boreas, a Thracian, was hostile towards his step-brother Lycurgus, and therefore compelled by his father to emigrate. He accordingly went with a band of colonists to the island of Strongyle, afterwards called Naxos. But as he and his companions had no women, they made predatory excursions, and also came to Thessaly, where they carried off the women who were just celebrating a festival of Dionysus. Butes himself took Coronis; but she invoked Dionysus, who struck Butes with madness, so that he threw himself into a well. Greek

The shrine of Mecca, said by the Arabs to be built on the exact spot of the tabernacle let down from heaven at the prayer of repentant Adam. Adam had been a wanderer for 200 years, and here received pardon. The shrine was built, according to Arab tradition, by Ishmael, assisted by his father Abraham, who inserted in the walls a black stone presented to him by the angel Gabriel.

Mystic divinities who occur in various parts of the ancient world. The obscurity that hangs over them, and the contradictions respecting them in the accounts of the ancients themselves, have opened a wide field for speculation to modern writers on mythology, each of whom has been tempted to propound a theory of his own. Greek

A sister of Cacus, who, according to some accounts, betrayed the place where the cattle were concealed which Cacus had stolen from Hercules or Recaranus. She was rewarded for it with divine honours, which she was to enjoy for ever. Greek

According to Acusilaus a son of Hephaestus and Cabeiro, and father of the Samothracian Cabeiri and the Cabeirian nymphs. Others consider Cadmilus himself as the fourth of the Samothracian Cabeiri. Greek

A son of Agenor and Telephassa, and brother of Europa, Phoenix, and Cilix. When Europa was carried off by Zeus to Crete, Agenor sent out his sons in search of their sister, enjoining them not to return without her. Telephassa accompanied her sons. All researches being fruitless, Cadmus and Telephassa settled in Thrace. Here Telephassa died, and Cadmus, after burying her, went to Delphi to consult the oracle respecting his sister. Greek

An ancient Italian hero of Praeneste. The account which Servius gives of him runs as follows: At Praeneste there were pontifices and indigetes as well as at Rome. There were however two brothers called indigetes who had a sister. Greek

According to the Hottentots and the Bushman the supreme deity and creator of the world whose loves are ‘pleasing’ and it is especially attached to the moon, having made it out of one of its old shoes. Africa

Calpe and Abyla. The two pillars of Hercules. According to one account, these two were originally only one mountain, which Hercules tore asunder; but some say he piled up each mountain separately, and poured the sea between them. Roman

Of the Volsci was the daughter of King Metabus and Casmilla. Driven from his throne, Metabus was chased into the wilderness by armed Volsci, his infant daughter in his hands. The river Amasenus blocked his path, and, fearing for the child's welfare, Metabus bound her to a spear. He promised Diana that Camilla would be her servant, a warrior virgin. He then safely threw her to the other side, and swam across to retrieve her. Roman

The Egyptian god of water. The Chaldeans worshipped fire, and sent all the other gods a challenge, which was accepted by a priest of Canopus. The Chaldeans lighted a vast fire round the god Canopus, when the Egyptian deity spouted out torrents of water and quenched the fire, thereby obtaining the triumph of water over fire.

"the centaur archer." Capricornus is the tenth, or, strictly speaking, the eleventh sign of the zodiac. (Dec. 21-Jan. 20.) According to classic mythology, Capricorn was Pan, who, from fear of the great Typhon, changed himself into a goat, and was made by Jupiter one of the signs of the zodiac. Roman

According to Apollodorus the first king of Attica, which derived from him its name Cecropia, having previously borne the name of Acte. He is described as an autochthon, the upper part of whose body was human, while the lower was that of a dragon. Hence he is gemimis. Greek

The supreme God of the Isoko people in southern Nigeria. He is believed to have created the world and all peoples, including the Isoko. Cghene is beyond human comprehension and is only known by his actions. Because the God is so distant and unknown he has no temples or priests, and no prayers or sacrifices are offered directly to him.

Of Cyparissus, the shield-bearer of Antilochus. He was in love with the Amazon Penthesileia, but on hastening to her assistance he was killed by Achilles, and the Greeks nailed his body to a cross. Greek

A son of Erebos, the aged and dirty ferryman in the lower world, who conveyed in his boat the shades of the dead - though only of those whose bodies were buried across the rivers of the lower world. Greek

The names of two rocks between Italy and Sicily, and only a short distance from one another. In the midst of the one of these rocks which was nearest to Italy, there dwelt, according to Homer, Scylla, a daughter of Crataeis, a fearful monster, barking like a dog, with twelve feet, six long necks and mouths, each of which contained three rows of sharp teeth. Greek

The wisest and justest of all the centaurs. He was the instructor of Achilles, whose father Peleus was a friend and relative of Cheiron, and received at his wedding with Thetis the heavy lance which was subsequently used by Achilles. Greek

Two cities built by the Genii, acting under the orders of Jan ben Jan, who governed the world long before the time of Adam. Chilminar, or the "Forty Pillars," is Persepolis. These two cities were built as lurking places for the Genii to hide in. Persian

A daughter of the Theban Amphion and Niobe. According to an Argive tradition, her original name was Meliboea, and she and her brother Amyclas were the only children of Niobe that were not killed by Apollo and Artemis. But the terror of Chloris at the death of her brothers and sisters was so great, that she turned perfectly white, and was therefore called Chloris. Greek

A famous Cyprian hero. According to the common tradition, he was a son of Apollo by Paphos, king of Cyprus, and priest of the Paphian Aphrodite, which latter office remained hereditary in his family, the Cinyradae. Greek

1. A son of Laomedon and father of Caletor and Procleia, was one of the Trojan elders. 2. A son of the Oechalian king Eurytus, was one of the Argonauts, and was killed during the expedition by Heracles, or according to others by Aeetes. Greek

Meaning river of wailing or lamentation, was the river in the underworld on the banks of which the dead who could not pay Charon wandered, according to most accounts, for one hundred years. It flowed into the river Acheron, across which lay Hades, the mythological abode of the dead. Greek

A hero in the employ of Brute, who conquered the giant Goem'agot, for which achievement the whole western horn of England was allotted him. He called it Corinea, and the people Corineans, from his own name. British

1. A daughter of Oceanus and Ge. She was a Naid, and became by Peneius the mother of Hypseus, king of the Lapithae, and of Stilbe. 2. A daughter of Erechtheus and Praxithea, was married to Xuthus, by whom she became the mother of Achaeus and Ion. Greek

Cyclopes According to the ancient cosmogonies, the Cyclopes were the sons of Uranus and Ge; they belonged to the Titans, and were three in number, whose names were Arges, Steropes, and Brontes, and each of them had only one eye on his forehead. Together with the other Titans, they were cast by their father into Tartarus, but, instigated by their mother, they assisted Cronus in usurping the government.

A man of prodigious might, brother of Pyrochles, son of Malice (Acrates) and Despite, and husband of Acrasia, the enchantress. He sets out to encounter Sir Guyen, but is ferried over the idle lake by Wantonness (Ph?'dria), and forgets himself; he is slain by King Arthur. British

The Dactyls of mount Ida in Phrygia, fabulous beings to whom the discovery of iron and the art of working it by means of fire was ascribed. Their name Dactyls, that is, Fingers, is accounted for in various ways; by their number being five or ten, or by the fact of their serving Rhea just as the fingers serve the hand, or by the story of their having lived at the foot of mount Ida. Greek

Or "Lent Lily," was once white; but Persephone, daughter of Demeter, delighted to wander about the flowery meadows of Sicily. One spring, throwing herself on the grass, she fell asleep. The god of the Infernal Regions, Pluto, fell in love with the beautiful maid, and carried her off for his bride. His touch turned the white flowers to a golden yellow, and some of them fell in Acheron, where they grew luxuriantly; and ever since the flower has been planted on graves. Greek/Roman